Oregon’s child care problems may change from county to county, but they’re statewide and they make life tough for both employees and the companies they work for. Consider: According to the Economic Policy Institute, an Oregonian with an infant will spend, on average, $13,616 a year on care , well above the $9,165 they’d pay in tuition at the University of Oregon or Oregon State, and more than the average cost of rent in the state.
The Bend Bulletin
February 10, 2020
A recent report released by the Economic Policy Institute showed the U.S. lost 3.7 million jobs to China since 2001. Meanwhile, Commerce Department data released this week revealed that the non-petroleum goods trade deficit is the highest on record: $839.2 billion. Non-petroleum goods exports fell last year by $25 billion.
Public
February 10, 2020
A recent report by the Economic Policy Institute indicates that China’s expansion since 2001 — which caused a leap in the U.S. trade deficit — has cost more than 3.7 million jobs in this country.
91.5 KJZZ
February 10, 2020
[What follows is based on data released by the Economic Policy Institute the day of the State of the Union. See “Primer – The State of the Union for Working People.” While all of the information is useful, what follows is drawn from a section called the “Nominal Wage Tracker.” Scroll down to the figure entitled “Workers’ share of corporate income hasn’t recovered.” You can view this information on the graph or click on the button to get a number for every quarter going back to 1979. The number — some of which are identified in what follows – is the PERCENTAGE of total corporate income that accrued to wages and benefits of workers. In other words it tracks the changes in the shares of incomes going to workers generated in the private sector.]
WAMC
February 10, 2020
Celine McNicholas, director of government affairs and labor counsel at the progressive Economic Policy Institute (EPI), welcomed the vote Thursday, calling the PRO Act “a critical step in restoring workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively.” McNicholas added:
This fundamental right has been eroded for decades as employers exploit weaknesses in the current law and influence the government to weaken current protections. Further, employers often interfere with workers’ rights to organize, and face no real consequences for doing so. The result has been stagnant wage growth, unsafe workplaces, and rising inequality. The PRO Act will go a long way toward restoring workers’ right to join together to bargain for better wages and working conditions by streamlining the process when workers form a union, ensuring that they are successful in negotiating a first agreement, and holding employers accountable when they violate labor law. The PRO Act is an important effort to bring U.S. labor law into the 21st century—giving working people more power to counteract rising corporate power and inequality. The Senate should pass the PRO Act immediately and give working people what they need most: fairness and a voice on the job.
Common Dreams
February 10, 2020
More than 80 consumer, civil rights, and labor organizations supported the passage of H.R.2474, including the Economic Policy Institute, League of Conservation Voters, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the AFL-CIO.
Congressman Brian Higgins
February 10, 2020
According to a 2017 study by the Economic Policy Institute, almost 25% of low wage, minimum-wage-eligible workers in Florida are victims of wage theft. But Florida is one of few states without a Department of Labor – the state shuttered its department in 2002 – eliminating the most direct method to resolve worker disputes with employers about how much overtime they are owed or whether they should earn minimum wage. It’s why counties including Osceola, Miami-Dade and Hillsborough have enacted wage-recovery ordinances of their own.
Orlando Sentinel
February 10, 2020
Many of the protections were made standard by the labor movement of the 20th century. But union membership in the private sector has dipped—from one in three employees in the 1950s to one in 20 in 2016, according to the Economic Policy Institute. That could impact the wages and conditions of all workers. According to the same EPI report, strong union membership can bring up wages and ensure benefits for even non-union workers.
News Review
February 10, 2020
Enacted in 1935, the National Labor Relations Act protects workers’ rights to unionize and collectively bargain but does not carry stiff enough penalties for employers who violate their rights through termination, threats or other forms of retaliation, according to Celine McNicholas, director of government affairs and labor counsel at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
Employers may receive orders to “cease-and-desist” illegal activities or be required to notify workers of their rights under the law, and those who fire workers for union support may be liable for back pay. But those remedies aren’t strong enough to deter illegal activity, McNicholas said.
Pennsylvania Capital-Star
February 10, 2020
Economists will also closely watch wage data, because pay raises have slowed since early 2019 despite the ultra-low unemployment. Pay growth might have picked up slightly in January because 21 states raised their minimum wages at the start of the year, benefiting nearly 7 million workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Associated Press
February 10, 2020